Sole-leveling machine



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0. GILMORE l 7 Sole Leveling Machine.

No. 231,707. v Patented Aug. 31',188O.

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0. GILMORE. Sole Leveling Machine. No. 231,707. Pa tented Aug. 31, I880.

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0. GILMORE. k Sole Leveling Machine. No. 231,707. Patented Aug.31,1880.-

WiI'FlEEEE-E. lr wfer E-nr mM/LM JZAflomL- UNITED STATES PATE T OFFICE,

OTHNIEL GILMORE, OF EAST BRIDGEW'ATER, MASSACHUSETTS.

SOLE-LEVELING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 231,707, dated August31, 1880.

Application filed June 4, 1880.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OTHNIEL GILMORE, of East Bridgewater, county ofPlymouth, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement inSole-Leveling Machines, of which the following description, inconnection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

This invention relates to mechanism for leveling the soles of boots andshoes, and is an improvement on that class of machines represented inUnited States Patent No. 44,946, heretofore granted to me, and on UnitedStates Patent No. 38,257 to B. Q. Budding, to which reference may behad.

In the said Budding machine the stroke of the leveling-roller was alwaysequal to the length of the sole, and was produced by a crank-motion,which necessarily gave to the said roller a variable speed and caused itto strike the ball of the sole with a blow, as it were, when the rollpassed from the shank upon the ball, which, besides injuring theappearance of the sole, made it very difficult for the operator tocontrol the roller; and, further, in that machine, owing to theconnect-ion of the treadle mechanism with the front end of the frameupon which the roller traveled, the pressure of the leveling-roller wasalways less at the shank than at the ball and toe, whereas the pressureshould be uniform or in excess at the shank.

In my patented machine, to overcome these difficulties, I mounted theshoe'upon a swiveling jack, but continued to use the crank to move theleveling-rollers, shortening, however,

its throw, which enabled me to cause the said roller to reciprocateuniformly over a portion of the sole less than its whole length, thechange of position from time to time of the jack mechanism horizontallyenabling me to bring under the roller a different part of the sole.

I have now devised a mechanism whereby Iam enabled to impart to theleveling-roller reoiprocations variable in their length accordin g tothe will of the operator, and at the same time the pressure of theroller upon the sole is kept substantially uniform by means of a spring,yet during this reciprocation the de-' gree of this pressure may beincreased or do creased at will by means of a foot-treadle.

(No model.)

To so operate this leveling-rollerI have combined with the arm carryingit a set of reversing-pulleys under control of the operator, who, by asuitable hand-lever, can shift theclutching mechanism so as to engageeither one or the other of two oppositely-driven pulleys or surfaces,and make the direction and length of each stroke of the leveling-rolleras may be desired.

In the two patented machines referred to,

it left and after it left the toe, which would spoil the sole at thetoe, it was necessary to employ a toe piece or rest the top of which wassubstantially at the level of the sole at the toe and extended beyondthe said toe. In this present machine I have obviated the use of atoe-piece by pivoting upon the rollercarrying arm a lever-controller,which, as the roller passes from the toe end of the sole, is thrownautomatically into position to arrest the descent of the arm and roller,so that the latter cannot fall below the level of the toe end of thesole; but the lever-controller is so actuated automatically as theleveling-roller arrives in position above the shank of the sole that thearm and roller are permitted todrop and follow the curvature of theshank even though its lowest face be lower than the toe end of the sole.

I prefer to use a rotating spider having two or more rigidradially-projecting metal lasts, and with it a locking device to retaineach last with a shoe upon it locked in proper position with relation tothe line of reciprocation of the leveling-roller; but it will be obviousthat I might employ one single last properly mounted on the frame.

Figure 1 represents, in side elevation, partially in section, aleveling-machine containing my improvements; Fig. 2, a top view thereof,the reversing or clutch mechanism being partially in section and Fig. 3,a front-end view thereof.

The frame-work A of the machine will be of any proper shape to supportthe working rarts.

The spider B, connected with the shaft 0, held'in suitable bearings, hasupon it two or more metal lasts, D. This shaft 0 has also a to preventthe leveling-roller from dropping as upon it a double conicalfriction-hub, Gr, having preferably two leather-covered faces, 2 3, acentral annular groove, 4, in the hub being entered by a pin, 5, of anarm, 0, of a rockshaft, H, it having an arm, connected by link I with anarm, 0 of a short shaft or stud,

0 having connected with it a handle, a by which the operator can movethe hub longitudinally in either direction on the said shaft b and causeone or the other of its frictionfaces to engage or enter the preferablyconical faces of one or the other of the two constantly but reverselydriven pulleys J K loose on the shaft 1), thus positively rotating thesaid shaft in one or the other direction so long as the hub and a pulleyare kept in engagement. The pulleys J and K will be moved in thedirection of the arrows upon them.

The shaft b has fixed upon one end of it a pinion, I), that engages andmoves a larger toothed gear, b fast on a shaft, 11 This latter shaft, ator near its center, has a pinion, b (shown partially in Fig. 1 bybreaking away the frame-work A,) and the said pinion is made to engage arack-bar, d, fixed to a carriage or plate, (1 having cars (1 which serveto hold the journals or pivots d of the pivoted arm W, the said pinion band rack-bar reciprocating the said carriage and its attached parts fora greater or less distance, according to the time the operator holds theclutch mechanism in contact, and in one or the other direction,according to which one of the loose pulleys the said hub engages. Thisarm carries a rod or shaft, 0, upon which is secured, by the screw 0 theoscillating carrier M, in which is mounted loosely the leveling-rollerW. This roller-carrier M has attached to it a handle, m to enable theoperator to turn the carrier axially upon or with the shaft 6 in thearm, to thus permit the roller to be held or pressed upon any desiredpart of the rounding surface of the shank of the sole, or to followcorrectly thia curves between the shank and ball of the so e.

In some parts of the sole the strokes of the leveling-roller should bevery short, and in others longer, and this may be done at the will ofthe operator by moving the hand-lever c.

The arm d has pivoted upon it the arm-controlling device f, herein shownas connected by spring f with a fixed stud, f, of the frame.

When the arm and carriage are drawn back so that the roller passes fromthe toe of the sole the controller drops into the position shown indotted lines, Fig. 1, and acts as a foot to prevent the descent of thearm and roller so far as to pass below the level of the toe of the sole;but as the arm and carriage move forward, as in Fig. l, the spring facts to draw the controller back, as in full lines, and then the arm maydescend to permit the roller to travel down along the shank of the sole.

Instead of the particular controller herein shown and described, I mayemploy any other suitable and proper device to arrest the de scent ofthe roller-arm when the roller passes ofi the toe of the sole.

The foot-treadle g has a rod, g, upon which is placed the cross-bar ofthe connectinglink 7 attached at its upper end with the collar g on thestud 9 attached to the carrier M. A spring, 9 is placed over this rod g,and confined thereon by a nut, 9 and by adjusting this nut the pressureby which the levelin g-roller is borne or kept down upon the sole duringthe reciprocations of the carrier is made more or less. This carriage isprovided with forward and backward stops 8 9, so located thereon as tooperate upon an arm, 0 connected with the rockshaft H, and operate it todisengage the hub from the pulley then driving it. These stops will beso located on the carriage as to stop the machine should it be about tobe moved too far by the carelessness of the operator.

It will also be noticed that the levelingroller is supported at thefront end of the carrier, that the carrier is unobstructed by anyconnection with the machine at its front end, and as each shoe isleveled the carriage is moved backward far enough to remove theleveling-roller from the sole and the carrier and all parts of theapparatus from above the sole, leaving it free to be treated in any wayor the shoe to be removed.

I claim 1. In a sole-leveling machine, a last to hold a boot or shoe, anarm and carrier and leveling-roller swiveled thereon, combined withclutching mechanism under the control of the operator, to enable theleveling-roller to be DIOWBd over the sole for varying distances, as

may be desired, in one or the other direction,

substantially as described.

2. In a sole-leveling machine, a last, a carriage, an arm pivotedthereon, and a swiveling carrier provided with a leveling-roller, andmeans, substantially as described, to reciprocate the said carriage andleveling-roller for a greater or less distance, as described, at thewill of the operator, combined with a spring and connecting-link andtreadle to hold the leveling-roller upon the surface of the sole atsubstantially a uniform pressure, as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a sole-leveling machine, the carriagearm, swiveling carrier, andleveling-roller, and means to reciprocate the said carriage to cause theroller to travel over the sole on the device for the spider,substantially as de- 10 last, combined with a controller connectedscribed.

with the said arm, to limit the descent of the In testimony whereof Ihave signed my name leveling-roller when passed off the toe of the tothis specification in the presence of two 5 last, as and for the purposedescribed. subscribing witnesses.

4. In a sole-leveling machine, a reciprooat- OTHNIEL GILMORE. ingswiveling carrier and leveling-roller held Witnesses: therein, combinedwith a rotating spider con- G. W. GREGORY, taining two or more lasts,and with a locking N. E. O. WHITNEY.

